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Then she puts her hands on either side of my face and brings me in so she can kiss me again.
Duncan asked me if I’m in love with Lainey, and I didn’t answer him because I can’t describe how I feel about this woman. Lainey is the writer, not me. All I will say is that it’s sort of terrifying just how deep I’m in with her. I was in denial when Lainey and I first started sleeping together, but now that I’m not attempting to keep my heart closed, I’m aware that I feel like I’m falling every moment that I’m with her. I’m so in love with her, she consumes me.
“I love you,” I whisper, running my thumb over her bottom lip when she pulls away.
“I love you, too.”
“Hi everyone.”
This time it’s Amber and Lucas standing beside our booth when I turn to look.
“Hey,” Duncan says. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We heard you talking about Barnaby’s so much, we thought we’d check the place out.”
“We booked a table somewhere in that direction,” Lucas says, waving his arm around behind him. “Just stopped on the way past to say hello.”
I still don’t like the guy. I’m never going to call him a mate, but I dislike him a lot less if I think of him as the reason I met Lainey.
Duncan looks so surprised to see his sister and her boyfriend here that I know he hasn’t planned this. He raises an eyebrow in question at me, and I look at Lainey, who shrugs in response.
“We have enough room here. Do you guys want to join us?” Duncan offers, taking our reactions as a sign we don’t mind.
I didn’t really expect to be hanging out with Lucas and Amber tonight. They’re not my favourite people in the world, and I still don’t like the way the double dumping from hell went down. However, Amber is Duncan’s sister, and I don’t feel like I can complain about spending a few minutes with them when my life is pretty good. Besides, I’m not planning on sticking around for much longer. I want Lainey on my bike, and then in my bed, and I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to pretend I don’t.
I move over, and then pull Lainey closer to me, wondering how she feels about the newest additions to our table.
“Want to get out of here soon?” I whisper.
Her quick nod in response is very gratifying. “Ten minutes,” she whispers back.
“So, how about that weather?” Lucas asks, acknowledging the awkwardness of the situation.
Cass and Duncan work hard at keeping the conversation going, and a few minutes in, we’re all laughing at something Duncan says.
“So, Ben. How’s work going?” Lucas asks when the table goes quiet.
Great, small talk. I’ve managed it with Lucas before. It’s not much fun. I appreciate he’s making the effort, but I’d be just as happy not to talk to the guy.
“I started a new job a couple weeks back. It’s going well.”
“He’s going to be a private dick,” Duncan says before chuckling at his own joke.
“There’s nothing private about it,” Cass says smartly. “We all know he’s a dick.”
“Oh, Cass, you’re breaking my heart.”
Cass smiles and I smile back at her. Things aren’t all that bad between us these days. Occasionally, she even says something nice between taking pot-shots at me. As long as she’s a good friend to Lainey, I let her take her shots. And I’m making the effort to get to know her a little more, since she’s Lainey’s best friend and Duncan’s other half.
Lucas nods. “That’s pretty cool.”
“So you’re not in private security anymore?” Amber asks.
“Nah. I’ve moved on. I love what I’m doing and I’m having a good time doing it. Who knows, I might even go into business for myself later.”
It’s the first time I’ve ever said anything like that without Lainey bringing it up first. I’m still thinking about going back to school. I’m not convinced it’s the best thing for me right now, but it will be an option at some point.
Amber nod and smiles. “That’s awesome.”
